And the Beat Goes On

I am so tired of my humanity
of our vulgarities and violence
we never learn
or we do and forget
forget in the name of
[insert team logo here]
then we crown excellence
worship one above the other
but it’s not excellence if it’s
bestowed and not earned
if it’s dishonorable
or dishonest
He says he loves her
because she’s amazing,
but she is also a sinner
— aren’t we all —
according to that book
oh but which book?
and which god?
and which party?
and which plight?
Nevermind
Forget the hypocrisies
and contradictions
just go shopping —
Shop Shop Shop
Buy Buy Buy
More More More
to fill these gaping holes
in our souls
worship the profits
Oh holy night
but we kill the stars
and everything they manifest
a battle of wills
and wars
and words
us, them, he, she, they
big end, small end, dead end
Dead End
all of us
with no surgical procedure
to repair the despair
no subscription
prescription
no mantra
talisman
ritual
get down on your knees
devotion
we just spin spin spin
round and round
and round and round
same song, different day
different year
different decade
different century
and the beat goes on

La-de-da-de-da

Poem ©2023, Jen Payne. If you like this poem, you can read similar in my books and zines, available from Three Chairs Publishing on my ETSY SHOP. They come autographed, with gratitude and a small gift. IMAGE: This true-color image shows North and South America as they would appear from space 35,000 km (22,000 miles) above the Earth. The image is a combination of data from two satellites. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA’s Terra satellite collected the land surface data over 16 days, while NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) produced a snapshot of the Earth’s clouds. October 2000, NASA.